I thought I’d write two columns in one this week, just for a change of pace.

The “this” part is a reflection on last week’s primary election, which I didn’t have much to do with, being a registered Democrat. (Actually, I became a Republican for the day, so I did participate, but don’t spread it around.)

I noticed, although not having television makes it a little harder to do that. This year, though, NBC has offered a handy little App (which is lazy talk for application) for that trendy gadget, the iPad, and since I purchased one of those magic little devices a few months ago, I am able to look in on the Olympics.

Since I started writing this column for the Basin Republican Rustler nearly 13 years ago, I more than once have found myself writing about an act of senseless violence.

Ironically, the latest episode, in Aurora, Colo., took place less than 20 miles from the Columbine High School atrocity, the event that prompted my first column on the subject. That event hit close to home, because, at the time, I was a high school teacher. It was easy to relate to the stories and images of terrified kids and teachers trying to cope with an unimaginable horror and trying to imagine how I would have reacted had such a thing happened in my school.

Mom was ironing, but she was a rather distracted by a guy on the radio who was calling off the names of the states. There was a lot of cheering after he called each name, and eventually, there was huge cheer that dissolved Mom’s anxiety into pure joy and sent her bouncing around the room in elation.